DeFrancisco suspends campaign for NY governor

With support dwindling for his gubernatorial campaign, state Sen. John DeFrancisco said Wednesday he will no longer be "actively campaigning" for the Republican nomination.

DeFrancisco, R-DeWitt, released a statement hours after fellow Republican gubernatorial hopeful Marc Molinaro announced that six GOP county chairs who had endorsed the Syracuse-area state lawmaker were now supporting his campaign.

Molinaro now has endorsements from 45 of the state's 62 Republican county chairs. The chairs represent more than 72 percent of the weighted vote at the GOP convention, according to The Citizen's unofficial tally.

To win the nomination at the convention, a candidate must secure more than 50 percent of the weighted vote. The two-day convention begins May 23 in Manhattan.

For now, nine chairs, including the heads of the Cayuga and Onondaga county GOP committees, remain in DeFrancisco's column.